Adebayor increases heat on City

Emmanuel Adebayor has raised the temperature ahead of this weekend's clash with Manchester City by claiming Roberto Mancini's multi-million pound stars will start fighting with each other on the pitch if Tottenham get under their skin at White Hart Lane.

Emmanuel Adebayor has raised the temperature ahead of this weekend's clash with Manchester City by claiming Roberto Mancini's multi-million pound stars will start fighting with each other on the pitch if Tottenham get under their skin at White Hart Lane.

City have a chance to put a huge dent in Tottenham's Champions League ambitions on Sunday when they travel to White Hart Lane. There they will come up against former City striker Adebayor, who had a tumultuous three-year spell at the Etihad Stadium, rowing with Mancini and fighting with defender Kolo Toure before leaving for Spurs two years ago.

Adebayor said: "If we put them under pressure we have a chance to win for sure because I was there and whenever things are not going their way there will definitely be a fight or an argument on the pitch and that is how we can take them down."

He added: "We saw them having a tough time at Everton so it's true that they are not strong away. They beat Manchester United so their confidence is very high, but we have a great squad and great players."

Andre Villas-Boas may drop Adebayor given that Jermain Defoe is expected to return from injury, although Gareth Bale's potential absence means the Portuguese could use both strikers up front.

Villas-Boas knows there is potential for Adebayor's temper to boil over because of the sour ending to his spell in Manchester. Adebayor clashed with Mancini and was shipped out on loan twice while he was also made to train with the youth team.

Adebayor insists he bears no ill-feeling towards either Mancini or City, however.

He continued: "I don't have anything to prove to Man City. Man City is a sacred club. I have a huge respect for the players because I got players there that I can call family - people like Yaya Toure, Kolo Toure, and Vincent Kompany.

"They are very good friends so for me. It's going to be important for me to prove how good I am, but I don't have any pressure that says I have to beat Man City because of the way they treated me - because they bought me expensively and sold me for cheap.

"We are all human beings. We are all adults. I cannot tell you what happened and what did not happen. For me today I move on, (Mancini) has moved on. He is Man City, I am Tottenham. I wish him the best of luck. For me now Mancini is just a manager I respect just like Arsene Wenger, like Harry Redknapp, and that's it."